I grew up in Lincoln Nebraska, its my hometown.  I grew up watching Nebraska football and going to several games.  My grandparents had season tickets so as a young boy I went to as many games as I could with my family.  I am also an Eagle Scout and while in Boy Scouts, I was able to be an Usher at games as well.  I now live back in Lincoln and have been going to as many games as possible.  Needless to say I really enjoy Nebraska football and I was very excited to do my first event with the Nebraska Spirit Squads for their Homecoming Parade in September.

But not everything always goes as planned.

A couple of years ago I bought a Go Pro video camera.  For those of you not familiar with them, they are a very tiny camera that you can attach to almost anything and record HD Video.  The video quality is very very impressive in such a small gadget.  I’ve used it very little at events as its hard to switch from doing photos to videos.  However, this fall I have used it at all my events that I have been covering and I even bought an attachment so it can be attached to a cheerleader!  

The first time attaching it to a cheerleader I was very impressed with how the video turned out.  Its really neat to see something from their perspective.  So I had the idea of attaching it to a cheerleader for the Nebraska Homecoming Parade and emailed Erynn, the coach of the Nebraska Spirit Squads.  My idea was to have it attached to a cheerleader while she is walking in the parade and you could see everything from her perspective.  

Erynn emailed me back and said not a problem and I met her team before the parade.  We got the Go Pro attached to Melody and I was faced with a decision.  I normally have the Go Pro hooked up to my cell phone so I can see the video that is being taken.  But I also have a wifi remote that I can control the camera with, but I can’t see the footage.  I opted to use the wifi remote instead of my cell phone so I could walk along the parade route and get photos all while using the small remote to control the Go Pro, but the downfall was I couldn’t see what was being captured.

After the event was over, I was looking through the footage and realized that the Go Pro camera was angled up.  So most of what you saw was the trees and the sky.  Except when Melody greeted fans, you could then see those interactions.  I can’t tell you how bummed I was when I was going through the videos.  My first event with the Nebraska Spirit Squad didn’t go as planned.  But as with anything in life, you always have to look at the positives.

The positives I took away are:  While the videos aren’t what I was hoping for, its still cool to hear the band playing in the background. You can also hear Melody cheering on the video with the rest of her team and you can see the interaction of the fans with Melody as well.  I also used it as a learning experience – I need to focus on video when using it and making sure its setup right and to use my cell phone to control the camera so I can always see what is going on.  I also could hire someone to control the camera while I take photos of an event too.  Another big positive is my photos did turn out very well.  

As a business owner I always strive for perfection, but I am also human and make mistakes along the way.  That is how you grow as a person and even as a business.  You can’t be afraid to try different things.  I tried something new and while I am not happy with how it turned out, I know I will get another chance again and I hope to work with the Nebraska Spirit Squads in the future and provide more coverage of their amazing team.  

Thank you again to Erynn, Melody and the Nebraska Spirit Squad. Go Big Red!

Bobby Ericson
Owner & Photographer